Many people feel stuck in patterns of behavior they can’t understand or explain. In ways both small and large, they may sabotage their relationships, their careers, even their physical health. And while some people are aware that past trauma can be the root cause of mental health and addiction issues, most don’t realize that trauma is layered throughout life in a way that affects physical health, emotional expression, and cognitive functioning.
Trauma can come from a single event or a pattern of experiences. It can begin in utero or be handed down from generation to generation. Understanding the interconnected and layered nature of trauma helps us realize how the past influences our thoughts and behaviors in the present. That understanding is often the key that unlocks the healing process.
What Is Trauma?
The word “trauma” has its roots in the Greek word for “wound.” Trauma is the pain that you experience when you don’t have the internal resources to cope with external events. Most people think of trauma as being the result of a powerful one-time event that delivers a shock to the system. And while trauma can result from a single incident, it can also happen as a consequence of chronic negative experiences such as childhood neglect, being bullied, or an unstable home environment.
How Does Trauma Affect Us?
Unresolved trauma manifests in almost every area of your life, from work and school performance to substance abuse and your ability to maintain intimate relationships. For some people, trauma manifests in the subconscious where they may not even be aware of its effect on their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Even for people who believe the origin of their trauma to be obvious, layers of other traumas can influence the way they interact with the world. You don’t have to remember a trauma for it to affect you. Your body stores emotional information in different ways and in different layers, some that you may be conscious of and some that you may not realize at all.
Layers of Trauma
Trauma is complex. Each experience you go through is perceived through the lens of your previous experiences. You may begin treatment thinking you know exactly what the issue is only to discover other experiences stored in your subconscious that changed your perception of yourself and the world around you. Going through treatment is a journey of revealing and healing. At The Guest House, we call this unpeeling the onion. As you progress through therapy, new layers are discovered, and new freedoms are realized.
Different Types of Trauma
Trauma layers are composed of different traumas that occur over the course of your life and, sometimes, before your life even began. Your path to healing may involve one or several of these as well as other types of trauma not discussed here.
In Utero
A mother shares everything with her developing baby. This means that, for some people, trauma begins before birth. Just as you absorb nutrients from your mother while in the womb, you also absorb the effects of her emotions, both positive and negative. Research indicates that high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in a mother’s bloodstream can affect brain development in her unborn baby, creating a heightened sensitivity to stress later in life. A mother who feels depressed, afraid, angry, anxious, sad, or unsafe can pass the effects of those emotions on to her child who, later in life, may feel the same powerful emotions without being able to explain why.
Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma is tragically common. In one study, more than two thirds of children reported experiencing at least one traumatic event before they turned 16. This is because children lack the ability to control their environments, leaving them especially vulnerable to experiences which result in trauma. Childhood trauma can negatively affect the development of the brain, immune system, and ability to respond to stress. Children who grow up in stress-filled environments often struggle with relationships, job stability, mental health, and substance use disorder.
Intergenerational Trauma
Intergenerational trauma is trauma that is passed down from the trauma survivor to subsequent generations of their family. For example, if your grandfather grew up around domestic violence, the pain, anger, fear, and sadness he experienced as a child informed the way he parented his child and, in turn, how his child parented you. The emotional and behavioral effects of a trauma that occurred long before you were born have a powerful effect on how your family members treat and relate to each other, creating patterns that still echo today in your own thoughts, behaviors, and feelings.
Historical Trauma
Historical trauma is trauma experienced by generation after generation of a certain ethnic, racial, or cultural group. Historical trauma is caused by the systematic oppression of a specific group of people. Slavery, the Holocaust, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II are examples of events that traumatized not only the survivors, but their descendants. Historical trauma can cause some group members to experience poor physical and mental health, substance use disorder, and elevated rates of suicide.
Can Trauma Be Inherited?
We have long known that physical conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease can be passed down from previous generations. But the relatively new field of study called epigenetics is finding that trauma can also be inherited.
What Is Epigenetics?
Epigenetics is the study of how gene expressions change without changes to a cell’s DNA. Gene expressions are the way that the information encoded in your DNA turns into functions within your body. “Epi” is the Greek word for “around,” so scientists in the field of epigenetics study everything around your genes. Epigenetic changes were first documented in plants, but recent research has revealed that both animals and humans exhibit transgenerational effects attributable to epigenetics.
Epigenetics and Trauma
Epigenetics explains in part how trauma is passed down in families. Studies have shown that descendants of trauma survivors show symptoms of trauma themselves. Scientists believe that the stress of traumatic events creates chemical changes in the body that affect gene expressions, and those gene expressions are inherited by subsequent generations. Multiple studies of groups such as POWs, Native American tribes, and Holocaust survivors have shown that descendants of these survivors exhibit effects of trauma such as increased rates of depression, substance use disorder, and suicide.
HEALING TRAUMA LAYERS AT THE GUEST HOUSE
In order to move fully toward healing, The Guest House encourages individuals to embrace all aspects of their life experience, trauma included. While other treatment programs may also focus on treating trauma, TGH uses a variety of unique methods, therapies, and treatments to specifically address and heal the different layers of trauma. These include core energetics, somatic healing, and breathwork to promote not just emotional healing but physical and mental healing as well.
Four Ways Trauma Manifests Itself
- Emotionally
Trauma causes nervous system dysregulation, leaving you unable to manage powerful emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness. You may also experience mood swings, hypervigilance against potential threats, guilt, and shame. These emotions may lead you to isolate yourself from the people and things you love.
- Behaviorally
Trauma can manifest in behavioral changes as you try to compensate for the pain you feel. Changes in sleep and eating patterns aren’t uncommon. Substance use disorder is often driven by a need to mask the pain of unresolved trauma. Some trauma sufferers may act out, behaving aggressively or impulsively.
- Cognitively
Trauma affects your thought patterns and beliefs, particularly as they relate to your own self. Those suffering from trauma may have negative self-perception and difficulty trusting themselves and others. Unresolved trauma can also cause problems with memory, decision-making, and increased cognitive decline in later years.
- Physically
Trauma frequently exhibits as physical illness. People living with trauma often find themselves on high alert all the time. This constant vigilance leaves the body exhausted, weakened, and vulnerable to illness. Chronic pain, chronic fatigue, digestive issues, and cardiovascular illness are just a few of the physical symptoms that trauma can cause.
Confronting and Healing Trauma
Recovery isn’t a one-and-done, but an ongoing process of confronting and healing the layers of experiences that have brought you to today. Each time you peel back a layer, address it, move through it, and heal it, you find that much more freedom to live fully in the present. You’ll also gain the tools to see and appreciate the love and joy that are and have been part of your life.
By focusing on the layers of trauma that drive substance abuse and mental health disorders, The Guest House provides a safe environment to begin the healing process. We lead with compassion, kindness, and the knowledge that every individual is unique and so is their journey. We work closely with each guest to identify and heal the trauma behind their symptoms. If you want to learn more about our personalized approach to trauma treatment, call us today.